The PlayStation Portal: A Convenient yet Limited Gaming Experience

As I sat down to test the PlayStation Portal, I couldn't help but notice the lack of touchpad on the device. Unlike its Dual Sense controller counterparts, there is no touch surface in the middle for swiping or interacting with games. Instead, users must swipe from the sides to bring up an on-screen touchpad, which can be a bit awkward. This limitation becomes even more apparent when playing games that rely heavily on the touch surface, such as Portal. In these situations, the controller is far easier to use, and the portal's design choice can feel somewhat clunky.

This limitation is further exacerbated by the fact that users are locked into their PlayStation games. While this may not be a major issue for some, it does limit the user's flexibility when it comes to choosing which game to play. If you're someone who enjoys playing mobile games, like Jedi: Fallen Order or Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, having access to a broader range of titles can be a major plus. The PlayStation Portal's focus on exclusive content may not be enough to satisfy users looking for more options.

Fortunately, the portal does offer some flexibility when it comes to controllers. Users can opt for touchscreen controls on their phone, use a Dual Sense controller, or even one of several third-party options, such as Steel Series controllers or the Razer Kishi. The latter two are particularly notable for their ease of use and comfort. The PlayStation edition of the Black Backbone One is also a great option, snapping onto the device with ease to provide a similar experience to the portal.

One area where the portal shines, however, is in its display quality. While it may not surpass that of an iPhone or iPad Pro, the 8-inch resolution is still sufficient for most gaming needs. The portability and compact size of the device also make it easy to take with you wherever you go.

Another benefit of using a PlayStation Portal is the simplicity of connecting your device to your TV. Unlike some other options, such as Apple Arcade on iOS, which offers more flexibility when it comes to controller compatibility, the portal is designed specifically for PlayStation gamers. This can lead to a seamless experience, especially if you're used to playing on a console.

However, one major drawback of the portal is its lack of Bluetooth connectivity. While this may not be a deal-breaker for some users, it does limit your options when it comes to audio and microphone functionality. In situations where you need to listen to music or take calls while gaming, the absence of Bluetooth can be frustrating.

Ultimately, my experience with the PlayStation Portal has come down to convenience. For casual gamers who want to play games on-the-go without too much hassle, the portal's simplicity is a major plus. However, for those looking for more flexibility or a wider range of options, other devices may be better suited to their needs.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's the better Mobile gaming setup the allnew PlayStation portal or your Apple device and a Bluetooth controller welcome everybody Welcome to Apple Insider it is Andrew here and the PlayStation portal launched with quite a bit of fanfare it's been hard to get your hands on and people are loving it but at $200 is this really the best way to remotely connect and play your PS5 or or is it not only cheaper but better to download the PlayStation Remote Play app on your iPhone or your iPad and connect an external controller in this video I'm going to test both of these out and give you my impression and recommendation on which one of these is the best way to play your PS5 remotely let's start with the PlayStation portal what is it basically it's just a remote desktop client for the PlayStation that's it there's no like processing power in here you're not worrying about you know the graphics performance nothing it's literally just remote desk topping into your PlayStation and showing it up on the screen I mean honestly I can go and like interface with my PlayStation just like I would if it was pulled up on my TV screen like there's no difference at all and there's some audio going um it's got built-in speakers an 8in display panel and a dual s by controller just kind of cut in half so we have the left handle and we have the right handle that's literally identical to a dual sense controller you can see they just kind of moved it over from one to the other because it is just the Dual sense controller you have the Dual sense controller benefits you have these adaptive triggers that change based on what you're doing you have the vibration effects that are super tangible when I'm playing like Jedi Fallen order and like something is flying overhead I could really feel it rumbling in my hands it just feels really really nice and it's convenient because you have this one singular device one piece charged over USBC buil 10 speakers really nice looking display just overall fantastic single piece design that I really really like so what's the alternative well Sony also creates a remote desktop app for the iPhone it's just called PS remote play and it's free to download you can download it on your iPhone on your iPad and play basically the same way since again it just streaming from your PS5 there's little difference in terms of performance I saw no difference when playing on my PlayStation portal than when playing on my iPhone or my iPad it was simply the same performance all streaming over my home's Wi-Fi to whatever client device that I had signed in with since I'm just using my Apple device though I have a few benefits starting with the cost you're out nothing just to use your iPhone or your iPad that you already have plus if you have a PlayStation 5 you've already got your dual sense controller these can be paired with your iPhone or your iPad or your Mac and you can just play this way so I can pair this with my iPhone and basically get the same experience and in some cases it's a better experience on the PlayStation portal there is no touch pad there is no touch surface in the middle like there is on the Dual sense controllers so what you do is you have to swipe in from the sides which brings up an onscreen touchpad and it's just a little awkward to be able to interact with it's not nearly as awkward as just using the controller the controller is far easier so if you're playing a game that relies on that touch surface that touchpad it's much nicer to use a standard dual sense controller you're also not just locked into your PlayStation games I mean I love the portal and there's so many cool games that I can play mobile now whether it's anything like Jedi fall in order whether it's Borderlands Tiny Tina like I've got a whole catalog of games that I like to be able to play and I can just play it you know in my hands versus up on the TV but on the iPhone you don't just have PlayStation remote you can use you can use any other gaming service that you want including Apple arcade so it unlocks a lot of possibilities you also have options for controllers you can just use touchscreen controls on your phone you can use a dual sense controller as I mentioned or the Myriad of third party controllers that also work steel series controllers are very nice um I love like the Razer Kishi and the backbone one there's even a PlayStation edition of the black backbone one and these snap around your phone and hold on to it so it gives you a similar experience to the PlayStation portal for a lot less money but what about displays this is going to be definitely a little bit of a contention point because it depends on the devices that you have the PlayStation portal is simply a 1080p 8in display whereas your iPhone could be a 6.1 in display it could be a 6.7in display if you have like the larger 15 Pro Max uh or it could be you know an 8 in display if you're going with the iPad Mini all way up to 12.9 in when you're using the iPad Pro Pro so depending on what you have your Apple device could be larger or smaller than what the PlayStation portal offers but regardless it's still going to stream at 1080p so the same resolution another benefit to using your Apple device is for most things you can just use a pair of airpods yeah you can just use airpods to connect and listen to audio through your iPhone whereas on the PlayStation portal there is no Bluetooth so you can plug in a standard pair of headphones or you can use PlayStation's specific earbuds that will connect over own link system and you can go that route so this is definitely up in the air though unfortunately you still can't use like airpods connected to your PlayStation and use these as like a microphone and gaming setup and all that it's still just not going to work so depending on what you're doing if you're trying to do something online it may be better to go with the portal and PlayStation's own in-house set of earbuds so which one is better for me the whole point of this comes down to convenience that's what I want this for it's we're watching football on the TV my son's watching something in the TV my wife is using something on the TV or I'm just in another room and I don't have my PlayStation connected but I still want to be able to play games I want to play games in bed wherever it may be and you can use your iPhone but there's just something a little bit more tedious than having to launch the the PlayStation app and then connecting to it then pairing your controller to it uh or attaching controller around it let alone the other issues that may arise when using other controllers that aren't the PlayStation dual sense controller uh or if somebody like calls you while you're playing or if you want to multi- ask and text somebody like of course you can turn on your gaming Focus to limit notifications but overall I feel like it hurts the experience the PlayStation portal is so simple it's clean and magical it's just very easy you open it up does one thing connects to your PlayStation and you're good to go it's that simple and easy to use the controller is nice and I can get over the fact that the touch surface interface is just really not that great but between the two I'm going to stick with the PlayStation portal more often than not then I can use my phone if I want to listen to music be texting people on the side or in general just multitask what do you guys think which one is your preferred device using a PlayStation portal or a controller pair with your Apple device let me know Down Below in the comments share your opinions on Twitter at Andrew U over on threads at Andre Hera 941 otherwise stay tuned got a lot more videos coming your waywhat's the better Mobile gaming setup the allnew PlayStation portal or your Apple device and a Bluetooth controller welcome everybody Welcome to Apple Insider it is Andrew here and the PlayStation portal launched with quite a bit of fanfare it's been hard to get your hands on and people are loving it but at $200 is this really the best way to remotely connect and play your PS5 or or is it not only cheaper but better to download the PlayStation Remote Play app on your iPhone or your iPad and connect an external controller in this video I'm going to test both of these out and give you my impression and recommendation on which one of these is the best way to play your PS5 remotely let's start with the PlayStation portal what is it basically it's just a remote desktop client for the PlayStation that's it there's no like processing power in here you're not worrying about you know the graphics performance nothing it's literally just remote desk topping into your PlayStation and showing it up on the screen I mean honestly I can go and like interface with my PlayStation just like I would if it was pulled up on my TV screen like there's no difference at all and there's some audio going um it's got built-in speakers an 8in display panel and a dual s by controller just kind of cut in half so we have the left handle and we have the right handle that's literally identical to a dual sense controller you can see they just kind of moved it over from one to the other because it is just the Dual sense controller you have the Dual sense controller benefits you have these adaptive triggers that change based on what you're doing you have the vibration effects that are super tangible when I'm playing like Jedi Fallen order and like something is flying overhead I could really feel it rumbling in my hands it just feels really really nice and it's convenient because you have this one singular device one piece charged over USBC buil 10 speakers really nice looking display just overall fantastic single piece design that I really really like so what's the alternative well Sony also creates a remote desktop app for the iPhone it's just called PS remote play and it's free to download you can download it on your iPhone on your iPad and play basically the same way since again it just streaming from your PS5 there's little difference in terms of performance I saw no difference when playing on my PlayStation portal than when playing on my iPhone or my iPad it was simply the same performance all streaming over my home's Wi-Fi to whatever client device that I had signed in with since I'm just using my Apple device though I have a few benefits starting with the cost you're out nothing just to use your iPhone or your iPad that you already have plus if you have a PlayStation 5 you've already got your dual sense controller these can be paired with your iPhone or your iPad or your Mac and you can just play this way so I can pair this with my iPhone and basically get the same experience and in some cases it's a better experience on the PlayStation portal there is no touch pad there is no touch surface in the middle like there is on the Dual sense controllers so what you do is you have to swipe in from the sides which brings up an onscreen touchpad and it's just a little awkward to be able to interact with it's not nearly as awkward as just using the controller the controller is far easier so if you're playing a game that relies on that touch surface that touchpad it's much nicer to use a standard dual sense controller you're also not just locked into your PlayStation games I mean I love the portal and there's so many cool games that I can play mobile now whether it's anything like Jedi fall in order whether it's Borderlands Tiny Tina like I've got a whole catalog of games that I like to be able to play and I can just play it you know in my hands versus up on the TV but on the iPhone you don't just have PlayStation remote you can use you can use any other gaming service that you want including Apple arcade so it unlocks a lot of possibilities you also have options for controllers you can just use touchscreen controls on your phone you can use a dual sense controller as I mentioned or the Myriad of third party controllers that also work steel series controllers are very nice um I love like the Razer Kishi and the backbone one there's even a PlayStation edition of the black backbone one and these snap around your phone and hold on to it so it gives you a similar experience to the PlayStation portal for a lot less money but what about displays this is going to be definitely a little bit of a contention point because it depends on the devices that you have the PlayStation portal is simply a 1080p 8in display whereas your iPhone could be a 6.1 in display it could be a 6.7in display if you have like the larger 15 Pro Max uh or it could be you know an 8 in display if you're going with the iPad Mini all way up to 12.9 in when you're using the iPad Pro Pro so depending on what you have your Apple device could be larger or smaller than what the PlayStation portal offers but regardless it's still going to stream at 1080p so the same resolution another benefit to using your Apple device is for most things you can just use a pair of airpods yeah you can just use airpods to connect and listen to audio through your iPhone whereas on the PlayStation portal there is no Bluetooth so you can plug in a standard pair of headphones or you can use PlayStation's specific earbuds that will connect over own link system and you can go that route so this is definitely up in the air though unfortunately you still can't use like airpods connected to your PlayStation and use these as like a microphone and gaming setup and all that it's still just not going to work so depending on what you're doing if you're trying to do something online it may be better to go with the portal and PlayStation's own in-house set of earbuds so which one is better for me the whole point of this comes down to convenience that's what I want this for it's we're watching football on the TV my son's watching something in the TV my wife is using something on the TV or I'm just in another room and I don't have my PlayStation connected but I still want to be able to play games I want to play games in bed wherever it may be and you can use your iPhone but there's just something a little bit more tedious than having to launch the the PlayStation app and then connecting to it then pairing your controller to it uh or attaching controller around it let alone the other issues that may arise when using other controllers that aren't the PlayStation dual sense controller uh or if somebody like calls you while you're playing or if you want to multi- ask and text somebody like of course you can turn on your gaming Focus to limit notifications but overall I feel like it hurts the experience the PlayStation portal is so simple it's clean and magical it's just very easy you open it up does one thing connects to your PlayStation and you're good to go it's that simple and easy to use the controller is nice and I can get over the fact that the touch surface interface is just really not that great but between the two I'm going to stick with the PlayStation portal more often than not then I can use my phone if I want to listen to music be texting people on the side or in general just multitask what do you guys think which one is your preferred device using a PlayStation portal or a controller pair with your Apple device let me know Down Below in the comments share your opinions on Twitter at Andrew U over on threads at Andre Hera 941 otherwise stay tuned got a lot more videos coming your way\n"